SIX houses, six counties: With staycations still on the agenda, Munster Eye susses out potential holiday homes
Kincora Harbour Munster Eye
WITH 2021 revving up to be even more challenging than last year and no prospect of foreign travel anytime soon, we reckoned a sensible way for Munster Eye to kick off the New Year was to take a look at some properties that offer the prospect of your very own bolthole in which to holiday at home.
There's a mix of coastal and inland, from stunning Hogs Head, to a thatch in Holycross, to a converted stables in the grounds of a big house that once hosted Jackie O. There's also a lovely Mews in Oysterhaven, a marina-side apartment in Co Clare or a "project" home in Co Limerick. Plenty to go around, with or without a Lotto win,
UNLESS you scrambled aboard a boat, you couldn't get much nearer to the marina at Kincora Harbour, in Co Clare, than apartment 15.
It's one of a series of smart apartments built in the noughties in what traditionally has been a popular holiday-home area, just a 10-minute walk to the centre of scenic Killaloe and on the doorstep of a 10-mile walkway to the village of Scariff.
No 15, for sale with John Phelan, of Harry Brann Auctioneers, is under offer above the asking price of €155,000, so there's no time to waste for anyone looking for a base on the west bank of Lough Derg. There's also the option of buying a berth, if you are fortunate enough to own a boat.
Mr Phelan says the 74 sq m, two-bed, two-bathroom, BER C3 apartment includes an open-plan living area that has a balcony overlooking the harbour.
It comes to market as the owner cashes in on their investment. "It's an ideal proposition for anyone looking for a holiday home," Mr Phelan says, or even for an owner-occupier at a time when the pandemic has prompted a rethink of what buyers want. University of Limerick Activity Centre and Two Mile Gate amenity area are close by.
: Looks promising for holidaying at home.
PRESIDENTIAL WINNER
The name of this house is a giveaway - 16 The Stables was converted from stable to holiday home 20 years ago, when tax incentives prompted such developments.
It's on the grounds of lovely Woodstone House, best known as a bolthole for US icon Jackie Kennedy who spent the summer of ‘67 there with her children.
In a small development lining a central courtyard, No 16 has a UK-based owner who is now selling up.
Brian O’Shea, agent with REA O’Shea O’Toole, guides the three-bed, one bathroom, 90sq m BER E1 home at €159,000 and believes it will appeal to people from the area, but perhaps living elsewhere, and looking for a local base. A €1100pa management fee "covers everything".
: If it's good enough for Jackie...
BUILT as guest accommodation behind the beautifully restored Walton Court, No 7 The Mews, Oysterhaven Harbour, has demonstrated its value as an investment property, generating €18,000pa gross rental income, says selling agent Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing.
The upside-down mews (the open plan living area is upstairs) is part of a seven-unit development, each with its own balcony.
In a sheltered crook of Oysterhaven Bay, close to Oysterhaven Activity Centre, two bedroom (with ensuites) No 7 is an attractive holiday home prospect at a time when overseas travel is banned.
For sale for €295,000, Mr Tyrrell says there’s also the option to buy all seven units, all of which are rented.
Interest is mainly from nearby Kinsale where rental properties are hard to come by. Management fees of €1850pa will be waived for the first two years, he adds. The BER is D2.
: There's no place like a second home.
If you’re looking for an affordable rustic base in Limerick from which to explore the delights of the southwest, this circa 900 sq ft cottage in Knockulcare, Mountcollins, Co Limerick, could be the ideal holiday home for you.
Selling agent Paul Stack of Sherry FitzGerald Stack says the two-bed, one-bathroom residence, on the market for €75,000, is just 500m from the Kerry border.
“You could be on the beach in Ballybunion in 35 minutes,” he says “and in Dingle or Kenmare within an hour."
“Alternatively, it’s just a 30-minute drive to the ferry in Tarbert, which will take you across to Killimer in Co Clare in no time.”
Once a family home, then a holiday home for UK-based relatives, Mr Stack says the house, in need of modernisation and refurbishment, would suit someone looking for a “project” outside of an urban environment. Foraging opportunities look likely given that Knockulcare translates as Cnoc Cúl Caor or Hill of the Berries.
Its energy rating is E1 and it’s within a short walk of the small village of Mountcollins. Castleisland is 15 minutes away and the N21 route linking Dublin/Limerick/Kerry is a seven-minute drive.
: Ideal base from which to explore the southwest.
IF you’re a golfer looking forward to swinging once Covid-19 is finally annihilated, what better spot to ready your clubs for than Waterville, where two world-class courses are within roaring distance of a holiday home that faces west towards Ballinskelligs Bay.
One course, Hogs Head, has a reputation as a millionaire’s playground, but the older Waterville Golf Club caters for more modest means.
Waterville, a beachfront village on the Ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way, is in a setting to die for, backed up by good restaurants and sea trout fishing.
To wit, there’s plenty to while away the time for whoever buys €375,0000 No 3 The Old Salmon Hatchery, a three-bathroom, four-bed for sale with Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing.
IF you’re a golfer looking forward to swinging once Covid-19 is finally annihilated, what better spot to ready your clubs for than Waterville, where two world-class courses are within roaring distance of a holiday home that faces west towards Ballinskelligs Bay.
One course, Hogs Head, has a reputation as a millionaire’s playground, but the older Waterville Golf Club caters for more modest means.
Waterville, a beachfront village on the Ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way, is in a setting to die for, backed up by good restaurants and sea trout fishing.
To wit, there’s plenty to while away the time for whoever buys €375,0000 No 3 The Old Salmon Hatchery, a three-bathroom, four-bed for sale with Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing.
“It’s been used as a holiday home for a number of years and a nice extension was added 12 years ago, so it’s actually close to 2,000sq ft,” Mr Tyrrell says.
“It’s a good quality product [BER C1]. Whoever buys can just walk in and hang their hat.”
: Ideal for living high on The Hog.
WHILE there’s only scope for one image here of the superbly maintained River View Cottage in Tipperary’s picturesque Holycross village, the internal pictures are well worth checking out online.
For sale with PJ Broderick and Co, it’s a traditional 18th-century thatched dwelling that has been expertly restored, modernised, extended and maintained.
“It’s immaculate, while retaining its character and charm,” says selling agent Mairéad O’Dwyer.
On the market for €330,000, Ms O’Dwyer believes it will appeal to someone looking to re-locate from a city or to an overseas buyer looking for a traditional holiday home.
The three-bed, two-bathroom house, near the meandering River Suir, measures 110sq m (1,200sq ft) and has underfloor heating and a C2 energy rating, excellent for a thatch. Plenty rear glazing means it's light-filled.
There’s a private courtyard and a rear garden with paved patio and Safari Breeze House, as beautifully maintained as the house itself, which is right in the heart of Holycross, with uninterrupted views of the stunning Cistercian Abbey. Thurles town is just 10 minutes away by car and the Rock of Cashel is a 15km drive.
: Charming thatch with a modern twist
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